Perilous Gateways

The Dragons' Claw Portals

By Robert Wiese

The Forest of Wyrms Portal

Deep within the Forest of Wyrms live green dragons. Lots of green dragons. Not so many that they are a real threat to the Western Heartlands, but nevertheless there are a lot of them. These dragons rule the forest, and intruders find themselves breathing noxious gases if they are unwelcome or are carrying a lot of valuables.

The forest is very close to the Trade Way, the main trade route from Waterdeep to the Inner Sea. It is also within a day's dragon flight from the Serpent Hills and the High Moor. For all these reasons, the location was practically irresistible to Valraxaxath. The portal here is deep within the forest itself, marked by two large trees and set high in the branches so that flying dragons can use it easily. As a consequence, one has to fly to use the portal. It is double-sized, but it can accommodate most dragons. Like the Small Teeth portal, it is a variable portal that requires keys. It can be used four times per day.

The default destination for the portal is deep within the Mortick Swamp in Luiren, where aquatic ogres and scrags await. Anyone who survives while trying to leave the swamp is indeed heroic, because the portal transports the creatures to this swampy death while their equipment goes to Valraxaxath's secondary hoard in the Wyrmbones.

Activating the portal for the other destinations requires a specific key for each destination:

Would-be dragon slayers have perished when encountering a blue or red dragon when they were prepared for greens, and occasionally chromatic dragons of other colors will help the greens if a lot of "heroes" invade the forest. After all, the greens are very useful in helping them with their own problems. The other denizens of the forest have become worried that reds, blues, blacks, and the occasional white have taken up residence, but when one is used to having green dragons around all the time, a dragon of a different color does not phase one that much, and the other dragons leave the forest alone. The people who use the Trade Way, on the other hand, are very disturbed by the rise in frequency and boldness of dragon strikes.

How to Incorporate the Forest of Wyrms Portal Into Your Campaign


The Dragons' Claw Portals